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Friday, February 26, 2010

The Beginnings of Great Friendships

Last Friday was bittersweet for Marlo and I, as it was the last class of our 6-week Great Beginnings class at Isis Maternity center. I was sad that we wouldn't have our scheduled weekly meeting with the other 9 mothers, but so happy that I made the decision to take the class in the first place, as the 9 women (and babies) that I met 6 weeks ago will be in our lives forever. Never did I think at the beginning of class that I would meet such a dynamic, intelligent, charismatic and crazy group of gals, and that we would all get along so damn well! And the class itself was a great experience too...I can't recommend it enough to all new moms to get out there and meet other Mamas. You are not alone on this motherhood journey!

Over the six weeks we discussed topics such as sleep, feedings, expectations about being a mother, sex after baby, returning to work, establishing routines and child care, to name a few. Each class was led by the lovely Nancy G, a former stage actress in London who is originally from Boston. She was a wonderful moderator for all of us opinionated women, and a wealth of knowledge when it came to our newborns (who knew you could keep breastmilk out of the fridge for 12 hours?). We learned all about infant massage from her, and most classes spent a few minutes working out our babies kinks and knots (from all their hard days work). She shared with us techniques to help with our gassy babies, taught us a wide variety of songs to sing to baby (I cannot get Trot Trot to Boston out of my head most days), and made us feel sane for thinking the crazy things that new mothers do. And she was a wizard when it came to calming a crying baby - I think they were all mesmerized by her crazy hair!

It was Nancy who suggested at the first class that the 10 of us get together before or after class to get to know each other better. And get to know each other better we have. From our daily email discussions about anything from poop to reality tv, to our weekly lunches before class at Tossed, we have definitely gotten to know each other better. We have become a sounding board for each other to share the good and the bad: when a baby slept in their crib for the first time, when we want to throw in the breastfeeding "towel," when we need advice about feeding schedules, when one of us reluctantly went back to work...we turn to each other for support and words of wisdom. I feel like because of them, these first months of my daughter's life have been even more enjoyable that I could have imagined.

We have also gone on adventures outside of class, and already have some more planned for the future. What were the chances that 10 random ladies could all get along so well, and actually really like each other? I look forward to the weeks, months and years to come as we watch our babies grow into toddlers and beyond. And who knows, maybe like Rachel's mom, who to this day is still friends with the ladies from her Mommy & Me class almost 30 years ago, we will attend each other's children's weddings.